The Midland Railway Works (BY OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume II, Issue 6, 10 June 1899, Page 1

The Midland Railway Works (BY OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Hefting a feip - moments to Sjiare I thought a few lines describing thede work! might tf|Qve interesting' to your large , circle dr readers. T&* works are conductor on* the co-operative By£tej^ andiron, willing to worJi c#n ttt«fef»ir wagfes. All work is on |he cmraci syst^*' the uien work fug' ia g|»n of fiye oi" six, one being appointei iMpWjg'nian. * He receives ail orders frofa the oferiseei'a, signg contracts, takes We 1 pa#w££(i.* ftsi for thjs e*tr»,' wor,k Jp pa^|a4bti|y jtem ,i^ liien, en#nprs, q^Bd^^liad $9^l if tph do|^;g|'4^hf}^4 aa \the i^ad« has ftl»o ' to.^^hia fair 6%ire oi t,he.^ork, Uiii' liUlat' »^'frruBhedF^« - leyel fora&wnfe.^■•TSttt©' "Wilt^wTw^ i l)i^ bridges, one at Pattersons Creek , wjiilbe-lSOteet high, *tud one v crp3Bin£t Staircase* Guli,y abouiti 136. feet' t highV and about 260 yards' long. Messrs^ Anderson of ChmtchurejvhM the contract from the deinnefc Midland Kail,way Company, to form the line from Spriugtiekl to Otarama, also tbe poking in ot the foundations for PaMe/stlia** Creek bridge. They nnitiheu'tijir Contract some, time 1892, and 1 uoiiXf that time till March 1898, \vl\en the Government took the work in hand, '< nothing more had beeu done. Since March 1898. A long and high block cutting, and rails laid from Otaamar to Pattersons Greek, a distance of about one and ■ a bait miles, allows heavy goods to be brought up by a locouiouve-iustead of by road. There are two tunnels iv full swing working ' at both ends.' There are 28 ineu in, the tunnels at present, workmg in •hitts of eight hours, six men in' a shiit. The nrat shiltcommeace'woi'k at eight o'clock iv the morning and kuock off at ioyr o'clock whiu the second shift goes on till twelve at night* - Three heavy cutliugs have been completed and several nearly so. Some of the cuttings, are very deep, one I was wurkuig in at Staircase Urully <was 70 tuet m the middle, wlale another I am iv at present is 59 ieet deep. At the Staircase cutting we used to run it out iv two yard trucks and tip it, iuto the Waimakanri 250 feet below. The weather is very 'changeable tins wjnte* ' titUer rainiug, suo'wnig, or olbwixig and fcheio is a loWt bioken^tim^..^ liuighfc mention thai we atj about 2^oo leet aoove sea level. Tia st-aii' eonaists, of Air Gaven, engiaw&r in charge, Ml 1 JJixon, assibtaut^ engiaeerj Mr' Fxbzgei'uld (an old Tmiaru boy), clerkj and ihree chainmen.; , luuuay next 'lett(jr i will give a description oi the 'scenery, which is splendid.

A baronet 19 taid, to have died in a Eon* don yau«st at the age of ninety-one* :^AI« . though he bad rent roll of JB36.'ootf"^»|V, \ for v. considerable period he bad/liv^4|§*'Y life of a recluss. • - i [ 'V","' ' Si-^ A**isoutl)w;ia-/, journal refajf^'jjo^wt